Introduction
· the naturally dominant human question is, “Who am I?” (“What is life for me?” “How can I get the most out of life?” Etc). People always want to know about themselves.
· “Though you are more interested in yourself than you are in anything else in the world, yet you have another characteristic equally strange – an unwillingness to face the truth about yourself.” (source unknown)
· this sets up a difficult inner dynamic and is related to familiar psychological phenomena such as repression, denial, transference, projection etc. which make prayer ministry necessary
· prayer ministers will only be able to see the truth about other people’s lives to the degree that these problems have been solved in their own
· this sort of “seeing” is not about spiritual gifts of discernment and insight e.g. prophecy, wisdom, knowledge
· there is no evidence, for example, that these gifts contributed to the Corinthians’ genuine self- understanding (just the opposite)
Application
“The deeper we go into things the more do we enter a world where the mastery and the career are not to talent but to prayer.” (P.T. Forsyth)
1. Do you practice this principle in ministry?
2. Is it an explicit outcome of your ministry i.e. to release people into more prayer?
· our aim must be to impart understanding to others so they can learn to see themselves clearly and function as a community of truth and openness cf. 1 Cor 2:16; Eph 4:15; 1 John 1:5- 10
The Created Image
· since humanity was created in the image of God (Gen 1:26), knowing oneself and knowing God were inseparable
· human beings are essentially God related (this is an unalterable truth)
· yet because ‘Man has sprung from God and the dust.’ (J.P. Curran) self- knowledge and God – knowledge were distinguishable. (This could be put in terms of the creature –Creator distinction.)
· Adam must have known his true identity as a son of God (Luke 3:38) by supernatural revelation/insight
· this was conveyed by every Word that proceeded from God’s mouth e.g. Gen 1:28;2:17
· this Word revealed God’s inner self so that it was not secret and hidden
· there was an essential correspondence between the Word of God in Adam’s own life and that in Eve and all other creation, God’s glory was everywhere visible (Rom 1:20) Cf. Ps 36:9 “in your light do we see light”
· he was aware of God’s awareness of him and this was the true subject of his self –awareness; he was not in possession of self- esteem considered in an individualistic sense
· all created glory is reflected glory (2 Cor 3:18ff.), Adam had the glory of God (Isa 43:6 - 7; cf. Rom3:23), this was his glory and esteem
· at the pinnacle of the universal revelation of God’s glory (Gen 1:31; Ps 19:1; Rom 1:20, 23) was humanity
· as long as he continued to honour God by obedience, Adam could have truly said to Eve, “he who has seen me has seen God/the Father.” Cf. “For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man.” (1 Cor 11:7).
The Fall Destroys true Self- Knowledge
· the Satanic temptation, “You will not die;for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5), implies that Adam and Eve were not the visible image of the invisible God
· sin involved a denial that God’s glory was in man and so it was a denial of true self -identity
· a quest for greater personal insight/self – awareness was substituted for insight into what was in God’s awareness of man
· this was, by nature of the case, impossible, as God had revealed everything that he was able concerning himself and his image in his Word
· in rejecting the Word of God humanity created a new centre of knowing self, the self – centred “I”
· humans suddenly became self- aware of inner realities that have no essential correspondence to the Word of the Creator (things that don’t exist in God)
· fear, guilt, shame, accusation etc. (Gen 3:7 -13) became part of fallen human life as expressions of this discord
· how one feels about oneself (rather than the relationship with God) became the primary object of concern
· God and the dust ( = enfleshment) were no longer at one
· Adam knew he was no longer able to say, e.g. to Eve, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
· blinded by self- obsession (adoration) man has become his own measure
· self – definition, self- diagnosis, self- trust are forms of authority we give to ourselves that blind us; we take it that we know who we really are and won’t be convinced otherwise
· self- authority means that we attribute final authority to our inner voice/conscience about what we know about ourselves
· in practice, conscience can be informed by various sources, but it’s own authority is treated as final (“No one else lives inside of me.”)
· “Your conscience will mirror your spiritual condition, and for that reason your conscience will distort reality unless it is illuminated by the Holy Spirit” (Wurmbrand) e.g. 1 Tim 4:2
· “You cannot be hurt by men. You cannot be hurt by devils. You can only be hurt by self, your own pride, and in the violence of your own desires. Your self is the greatest devil of all.” (M. Molinos.)
Application Questions
1. Is the desire to honour God the overwhelming motive for your ministering to people in need? Or are you more preoccupied with their “healing” i.e. inner wellness?
2. Do you understand and agree with Molinos’ point? How does it relate to holding ourselves responsible for our state?
3. Some contemporary Christians believe that thinking about one’s self too much, rather than thinking too little of one’s self (“low self- esteem”), is a modern western neurosis and a root cause of much psychological distress. If this is true, how would it modify the way People Alive ministers?
· we now necessarily see ourselves, God and others in our own image e.g. people with “low self- esteem” will associate with those who see them in this way because this corroborates the verdict of their own internal legislation
· unlike Adam, who had an historical memory of the Father before the Fall,
“He who has seen me has seen the Father.” becomes what we live by in our hearts (Rom 10:10)
· self – knowledge and God – knowledge have become indistinguishable
· this is our actual inner belief system, the “God” we “worship” (prayer, obedience, service, works) corresponds to the projection of our own self – understanding
· the bible sees this as a punishment for idolatry (Ezek 20:25-26 cf. Acts 7:42; Rom 1:24, 25; 2 Thess 2:11.)
· the essential feature of idolatry is a lack of correspondence to the Word of God so that the result is always blindness and confusion e.g. “They have…eyes but do no see, ears, but do not hear…Those who make hem are like them.” (Ps 115:5b, 6a, 8a; 135:17 cf. Isa 44:17 -18).
· all representations of God in the form of idols, inner or outer, are projections of humanity’s own self- confused state
· inability to see this in others is in proportion to self- deception
· this is a function of the divine judgement, “25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless; 26 with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.” (Ps 18:25- 26).
· the self seeks knowledge of itself over against the “God” it has constructed in its own image
· because of fear of rejection/ punishment by “God” we don’t want to see the truth and change/obscure what is seen to conform to own judgements
· the familiar dynamics of repression, denial, transference, projection etc all function to protect the self’s image
Application Questions
1. Are you comfortable in using the biblical vocabulary of idolatry and judgement during ministry?
2. Can these concepts be translated in other ways without loss of meaning?
Jesus is the Point of Comparison
· through the coming of Jesus, God and the dust (= enfleshment) are one again (John 1:14)
· Jesus is not plagued by idolatry and blindness because he is pure within; “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8)
· Jesus’ heart is directed toward God cf. understanding/analysis of his own self “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” (Prov 3:5)
·Jesus is aware of himself as “the visible image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15) because he can say “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Col 1:15; John 14:9)
· this awareness is a function of his response to the Word of the Father, so that in everything Jesus’ words and works are the Father’s (John 3:34; 4:34; 8:28; 9:4; 10:37 -38; 14:10; 17:4, 8)
· his correspondence with the Father is therefore his point of reference for everyone with whom he has to deal
· “23 When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.” (John 2:23- 25).
·he knew that what was in others was untrustworthy because, as the Nicodemus episode is is about to reveal, those who were attracted to him by signs (John 3:2) did not recognize and confess the Father – Son connection
· Jesus is the light (John 1:4, 5, 9, 8:12; 9:5), but people don’t want to see e.g. John 3:19- 21 “19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
· such self – induced blindness (John 9:39) means they don’t want the Word to inform them that their image of God and so of themselves, is wrong
· the Jewish leaders seek to kill Jesus because he equates his works (what is imaged in him as Son) with those of the Father, “thus making himself equal with God” (John 5:17- 18; 10:30- 33)
· Jesus is condemned to die on the basis of the law of blasphemy, “One who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death” (Lev 24:16); “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”” (John 19:7)
· the fact of the cross is taken as vindicating their verdict that Jesus is cursed by God (Deut21:23); he appears in every way to sight as fallen
· Jesus own experience of the cross appears to validate the conclusion that he is not the revealer of God
· the cross is the place where Jesus is unaware of himself as the image/Son of God (Mark 15:34)
· even though he is pure in heart he does not see God and so is in the position of a sinner and an idolater (Isa 59:2)
· this fulfils the perception projected by his enemies that God is the punisher of Jesus
· Jesus however shows no sign of the self –definition, self- diagnosis, self- trust or self- authority that plague humanity, the sole ground of his knowing himself remains the work and word of God
· he has no word for himself and in naked faith looks for the Word of God
· the anguish of Jesus is that it appears as if God has a secret and hidden self beyond his work and word in the cross
· the truth is that wrath is not “like God” at all in his relationship with his Son; it is a wholly exterior condition into which Jesus is set for our salvation “21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim, he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon to do his deed—strange is his deed!— and to work his work—alien is his work!” (Isa 28:21; cf. Lam 3:33)
· from one angle Jesus’ cry is his oneness with the cry of the godly, “God have mercy on me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). It is a call for compassion on himself from the Father and simultaneously a self –compassionate plea.
· Jesus’ confession is one of a weak, struggling and fragile human being
· this is the revelation that humanity needs to undermine it’s projected images concerning who God is i.e. that he is essentially an angry Father
· the wretchedness of Jesus is a confession of the true state of mankind apart from God and a plea for mercy
Application
1. “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1; cf. 1 Cor 4:16; Phil 3:17; 1 Thess 1:6) is an implied claim to image Jesus. Is this a difficult thing for you to appropriate and express as a prayer minister?
2. What implications does your answer have for your practical authority?
3. What were your immediate responses to the claim that humanity sees God primarily as an “angry Father”?
· “it is absurd to think we can enter heaven without first entering into the castle of our own souls. The door by which we enter is prayer. We must reflect upon the wretchedness of our own nature and what we owe to God, continually imploring his mercy. The Lord himself said, “No one will ascend to the Father but by me”; and “He that sees me sees the Father.”” (Teresa of Avila)
· Jesus ascends to the Father (John 20:17) because his soul is completely free from any false images of God
· under the greatest test of all, judgement, under which humanity typically curses God (Rev 16:9, 11, 21), Jesus has refrained from every form of idol construction concerning the image of God and has so remained, in himself, the form of God in human flesh
· God and dust remain essentially related in Jesus; a matter which is revealed in his resurrection from the dust (Dan 12:2) as a “life- giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45)
· this truth finds fulfillment in his return to the glory of the Father, the position from which he is undeniably revealed as the fullness of the image of God (John 1:18; Acts 9:3 – 5; Rev 1:12 – 18 cf. Col 1:19; 2:9)
· his exaltation is not an external operation of deliverance or reward for his suffering but a sharing (for his humanity) in God’s nature in a deeper manner than before
· Jesus now has a heavenly image and no longer bears the fallen image of Adam (Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 5:16; Phil 2:7)
Application
1. Do you teach those who come for ministry that affliction is God’s necessary means for purifying the soul of false images of himself?
2. If the ascended Jesus is the fullness of God’s image, then our own perfect self –knowledge awaits his second coming as the revealed Word of God (Rev 19:13). The New Testament sets both these things as an object of hope that leads us into holiness(1 John 3: 2 – 3). Is this forward looking dimension of growth integrated into the way you practice ministry?
Death and Resurrection of the Image in us
· human self – perception needs to go through death and resurrection if it is to conform to the Word of God
· inner human evaluations need to submit to the verdict of God’s Word e.g. according to Richard Wurmbrand, in the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18:9 -14): both men were wrong. “The Gospels tell us of two men who went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The first man diagnosed himself, and was sincere when he came to the conclusion that he was good and fasted often, and gave generously to the temple. The other man did the same thing, but he discovered that he was sinful because he lived on ill- gotten gains. The self diagnosis of both men was wrong. God does not take account of what is seen on the surface, but of what is hidden in the hearts of men. In the depths of his heart the first man was a proud person, condemning others, while the tax collector was humble, and confessed sin.”
cf. prodigal son
· it was not that the accuracy of the tax collector’s judgement was superior to that of the Pharisee, but one was humble and the other proud (self – recrimination can be just as prideful as arrogance)
· the tax collector therefore was justified because in his humility he shared in the work of the cross (Phil 2:8)
· human beings know themselves either “according to the flesh” (1 Cor 3:1, 3; 2 Cor 5:16) or “according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:4)
· the latter relates to the true image of God that is being imparted to the believer (Col 3:10) as they share in Christ’s new creation (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15)
· believers are not asked to engage in self- analysis or put their confidence in themselves (Jesus did not)
· “Don’t judge yourself, ”…It is written, “Take no thought for your soul” (Matt 6:25)… The care of the soul is Jesus’ concern. Just tell him quite simply about your sin, and from that moment it will be his concern to deal with it.” (Wurmbrand)
· “self- examination does not lead to a changed life. The new point of reference was the dying and rising of Christ, not the individual conscience.” (Strom)
· biblical self- examination (1 Cor 11:28; 2 Cor 13:5) is not a matter of introspection, you look at God in light of his Word, look at self in the light of God in his Word, then look back to God to deal with you about what you find in God’s Word (cf. James 1:22- 25). Cf. JY and demonisation
· this sort of insight requires revelation from Christ (Gal 1:11- 12; Eph 3:3- 4; Rev 1:1)
· it cannot be separated from prayer for understanding, wisdom and knowledge (Eph 3:14- 19;Col 1:9; 2:2 – 3)
· we need to suspend judgement on ourselves i.e. submit conscience to the cross
· it involves identifying with the crucifixion and resurrection of the self brought about with Jesus (Gal 2:19- 20)
· it involves affirming the exalted status of the believer with the ascended Christ (Eph 1:20; 2:6; Col 3:1)
Application Questions
1. A famous scholar once said, “Every sermon must preach the cross.” Is this a principle you follow in ministry?
2. Do you struggle to suspend judgement in yourself? If so, what does this mean?
3. What is your most difficult self- perception to let go of?